“You didn’t say anything about not liking boats, Derek,” I said with concern.
“I may like ’em now. I just got real sick on the last one that we were on.”
“We hid on a cruise ship, thinking we were going to Africa. The next day we were in California and he was puking up his guts, so we had to get off and hitch it home,” Brandon explained, smiling the entire time.
“I might’ve been throwing my guts up, but I didn’t get us on the wrong ship,” Derek retorted, then stuck out his tongue.
It seemed like every night went on like that. The kids picking on each other to pass the time, and when they were tired of that they would work with their blades. One night we drove further out and made sure that everyone knew how to use their guns. I was surprised to see how well they handled using a fire arm. My father had taken me hunting most of my young life and taught me how to shoot several different types of guns. Bo was as good with the two guns that he was shooting, as he was his blades. Brandon and Ashley were doing surprisingly well, but Derek above all else, was extremely accurate with his right hand. He reminded me of the old west and the stories that I heard about Billy the Kid, and Doc Holliday. It didn’t matter how he pulled the twenty-two out of his belt, he hit the target.
Ashley didn’t look much like her typical girly self either. She had made arm sheaths out of some of the black pants that were down in the basement, and with the fairly tight fitting black cloths she was wearing, not to mention the three foot curved blade that adorned her waist, and the small two shooter at the middle of her back, she looked rather menacing. Brandon had the one short blade that he wore at his hip and the 38. Caliber hand gun that, he and Bo had made a shoulder holster for. Bo always stood proud with his sword down his back and the knowledge that he had trained us in the art of using our blades. He now carried not only his sword at his back, but a double barrel sawed off shot gun that he had managed to place next to the blade. No one knew for sure how many blades Bo actually carried, but Ashley and I counted him taking off nine one time before he laid down, and Bo never went to bed unarmed. Derek wore his gun holster just like he had walked out of the OK Corral. He had several blades, one of which hung down the side of his left leg from hip to knee.
I stuck with the jeweled handled blade, and the 22. Caliber hand gun. I strapped the sheath on my thigh and placed the gun on my right hip in a holster that Bo had stuck in the bag back at his father’s house. I felt like I needed a great deal of work when it came to using my blade effectively, but I was secure in my abilities in knowing how to use my gun. I also still had the small blade that Isa left me on the shores of Cuba, that dark night of my escape. Tomorrow night would be our last night in the states and we had to get the last of our belongings on the boat.
“Does everyone have their things ready? We have to get to the boat tonight,” I asked hoping we were all ready.
“I thought we weren’t leaving until tomorrow night?” Derek replied.
“We aren’t, but I want to get straight to the boat when we wake up. The less we have to carry the better, so let’s get everything loaded.”
“Okay. You don’t have to get loud,” he whimpered and started to shy away.
“I didn’t mean to sound so pushy, Derek. I think you may see me get a whole lot worse before it’s over,” I said, then kissed him on the cheek.
“No. Tell me you don’t mean it. If you feel cranky, can’t you just stay down below?” he whispered, smiling, with a wrinkled brow.
“I probably should,” I whispered back. “I’ll try to control it.”
We started loading the car and headed for the dock. By the time we got there the wind had picked up and lightning was streaking across the northern half of the sky. I was still amazed at the way my mind worked over Sydney, because all I had to do was think about telling him that we were pulling up in the car and there he’d come. The pigs in the back seat started to squeal the more the storm picked up, so the boys got out and each one carried a pig in their arms and took it on board. Sydney hopped in the back as soon as the boys were out of the way and told Ashley and myself to stay in the car, that he and the boys would carry the heavy stuff then come back and help us. I knew then, that he hadn’t explored my every thought, because Ashley and I could pick up and set this car off the side of the road if we chose to.
“I think we can take care of ourselves,” Ashley interjected, blushing just a bit.
“The fact stands that you’re a lady and you’ll be treated like one in my presence.” Then he simply slid back out of the car.
“Well, I guess he told you,” I laughed.
“Can you believe how absolutely wonderful he is?” she asked, smiling like a well fed possum.
“He is a nice young man.”
“Nice? He’s a doll. Maybe the boys will learn a thing or two, ya think?”
She and I watched from the car, snickering every time we saw one of the boys looking back at us. Once everything was out of the car, except what Ashley and I had in the front with us, all four boys slid into the back seat, soaking wet.
“Looks like the rain hit, Renee,” Ashley said, almost choking on the laughter that followed.
“I think you’re right,” I snorted. “You boys are soaked to the bone.”
“That is just so funny isn’t it?” Derek sarcastically replied and started shaking his hair.
“Derek!” Ashley yelled, holding up a shawl she had found back at the beach house.
“Thanks, that’s sweet of ya,” Derek replied yanking it out of her hands.
“Oh, you shit…you’re getting it all dirty.”
“Okay you two,” I said and both calmed down. “Should we go ahead and get on the boat or wait until the storm passes, Sydney? I’d really like to make sure things are in order, so we can leave first thing tomorrow night.”
“If you don’t mind getting wet, I’d say the boat should be fine. As for leaving tomorrow night, well, that may be up to this storm.”
“Then let’s get out of this crowded car,” Bo said and quickly got out.
Chapter Nine
The ocean was starting to crash onto the shore, rocking the boat into the dock. Bo and Brandon had made their way to the deck of the boat, and reached down to take my hand as soon as I stepped on the ramp. Ashley was holding onto Sydney’s hands in a death grip, and Derek was bringing up the rear. I was already on the boat when I turned around to see Sydney sweep Ashley off her feet and started to carry her over the side. I also looked back in time to see Derek’s jaw drop. I had forgotten that he had been out of the picture most of the time that the two of them had been getting more acquainted. The look on his face said that he didn’t like it. I waited for Ashley and Sydney to pass by me, and then I went back over taking Derek by the arm and walking him back down the dock.
“Why did you just get so upset?” I asked, as the rain pelted my face.
“I knew she was acting funny the first night he came over, but I thought you two had some kind of a plan,” he answered, spitting at the rain the was pouring down over his lips.
“You looked like you were fixing to jump him, Derek.”
“Well, did you see how he picked her up?”
“Look, they have a little thing for each other and you’re just gonna have to deal with it.”
“What the hell do you mean, ‘little thing’?”
“What’s going on?” Brandon asked from behind me.
“Derek’s upset about Ashley and Sydney,” I explained, as the storm began to grow stronger.
“I’ll take care of this. We’ll go back to the house. I don’t think this storm is going to let up anyway,” Brandon replied.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Derek stomped one foot down on the dock. “I’m not a child. If they wanna be all stupid then that’s their business.”
“I think Brandon’s right. I’ll make sure that everything’s alright here, then meet y’all back there.”
“Bull shit. I’ve had it with all y’all treat
ing me like a little kid.” Then Derek pushed his way past the two of us and cleared the railing of the boat in one solid leap.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this?” I asked looking over at Brandon.
“I didn’t even know that he still had a thing for her. I thought he was over that when they started fighting last year.”
“For peat sake Brandon, that’s probably when he got really serious. This is so not going to be good.”
Lightning was striking in a vicious fury, as the storm made its angry presence known. The tarp tore from the left side of the deck and started flapping violently in the mounting wind. Sydney grabbed a hold of one end and Derek grabbed the other. Both began working as a crew immediately. Ashley and I began grabbing everything that we could get our hands on and started taking it below. Bo and Brandon were working on getting the livestock into the kitchen area, when Sydney started yelling that Derek had been blown over the side.
We were all on the middle of the deck in seconds. All that we saw was Sydney hanging with his feet about to go over the back side of the boat. Bo took off running, but he wasn’t fast enough to grab Sydney. The waves crashed into the back of the boat and both boys disappeared in the black water. Bo and Brandon took off running to the dock and Ashley and I started screaming Derek and Sydney’s names. The rain was coming down so hard that I couldn’t see the boys that were running down the dock and I could barely hear them screaming the names of the two that went in.
I knew that all Derek had to do was get to the sandy shore that wasn’t more than twenty feet in front of the boat, and he would be alright. He could hold his breath for an extremely long time and could take an enormous amount of damage from the crashing waves. Sydney was another story altogether. I took Ashley by the arm and started dragging her to the side of the boat where we got off on the dock.
“Renee!” Bo yelled.
“You wait here. I’m gonna go help.”
“No, please. I don’t want to be here by myself,” she grabbed my arm, looking at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes. It was the very same look that little Edna used on me.
“Come on, but stay right with me.”
I took off running to the end of the dock that disappeared into the mouth of the ocean, engulfed in an enormous wave. It took what felt like forever before I saw Bo and Brandon lying on their stomach, both leaning halfway over the end of the dock. “Run, Ashley!” I yelled as I picked up speed. I dove down on top of Bo’s legs and pulled with all of my might. Ashley grabbed Brandon’s and followed my action.
“Hold on, Derek,” Bo yelled as we both pulled them from the enraged ocean.
“I thought I was gonna die,” he gasped as he gripped Bo’s waist, crawling his way to safety.
“That’s a little redundant isn’t it little man?” Bo laughed lifting him into a bear hug, with me wrapping myself around them.
“Renee, he’s not breathing,” Ashley yelled in a frantic tone.
I slid over to where they had pulled Sydney from the water and felt for his pulse. “What are you doing?” Ashley asked. I pushed her away and did what I saw my pa do when my brother Sam, almost drowned in the Hordes Creek Lake. I turned him on his side and pressed his ribcage a few times, trying to get the fluid out of his lungs. I turned him back over and blew air into his mouth. I rolled him onto his stomach and pulled his arms over his head, by pulling on his elbows. I then turned him back over and blew air several more times into his mouth, hard enough that his chest rose. This time he began to cough. I turned him back on his side and yelled my gratitude into the night as he spit up the ocean that his body had taken in, when he tried to save one of my little ones.
“Where did you learn to do that?” Bo asked with astonishment in his voice.
“My pa said he learned it back in the war times. I didn’t really think it worked till now.”
“How’s Derek?” Sydney coughed.
“He’s fine. We’re going to take you back to the beach house,” I explained while helping him sit up.
“I need to stay with the boat,” he replied holding his ribs.
“Yeah, well this boat might not even be here if this storm gets any worse,” Ashley added taking him under one arm.
“Oh, don’t even joke about that,” he said leaning heavily on her. “She’s all I got.”
“You have us now,” Derek added as he stood between Bo and I. “Ain’t that right y’all?”
“That’s right, Derek,” I said out loud, then I whispered. “You’re a living doll, you know that sweetie?”
“He ain’t so bad. He never let me go, not even when that big wave crashed into us.”
“Looks like we all made ourselves a worthy friend,” I added as I kissed his cheek.
We made our way back to the beach house, parking the car in the garage. Once inside, Bo and Derek built a fire in the fireplace of the sitting room. Warmth soon filled the space, as the flames cast a soft glow. Sydney looked like he was going to be feeling his ordeal for a few days. Derek was holding the arm that he had broken a few nights before. At first I thought that it was the arm that Sydney had held onto, but it wasn’t. The fact that we heal amazingly fast compared to our once normal selves, left me puzzled by his actions. His bones shouldn’t have any sign of discomfort after this much time had passed. I knew we would have to talk later. With the fire blazing, we all huddled around it. None of us really felt the cold the way that Sydney did, but our bodies remembered the comfort that the flames gave on a stormy winter’s night.
I made Sydney stay up all night in hopes that he would sleep the day away. I told him that I thought it would be for the best if he stayed down in the basement with the rest of us. Of course, I did my best to keep any thoughts of Rebecca and her entourage at bay. I would hate to think about what would happen if those four showed up and found a strange normal, sleeping on what they considered their couch. At least this way we could protect him if they were to show up while we were getting ready to leave. I knew they slept the day away just as we did, but my trust in the animalistic ways of the others is on a scale too small for measure. My imagination could see them sleeping in a small crypt, waiting for the falling sun, so they can rush to the beach house and kill us before we even knew they’re there.
Chapter Ten
I woke up with all of my little ones surrounding me. I looked down where I thought Sydney was going to be sleeping on his makeshift bed, but the only thing that was there was a pile of messed up blankets. I slid out of the middle of the kids and crawled off the foot of the bed. I think it will always seem strange that, none of them moved when I pulled myself away from them, when we slept together. No one rolled to their stomachs, and no one stretched out. They were like frozen pieces of art. Tonight was the first night that I stood and watched as they started to wake up…if that’s what one would call it.
Bo’s arm twitched, then I noticed the pasty ash tone of his skin began to change. His leg stretched out as his head went back and he drank in his first gulp of air since the night before. His eyes blinked several times as the tone of his flesh took on its own normality. I could even see the veins pulsing under the thin skin on his neck. Moments later, Brandon and Ashley began to show signs of waking. My mind relished every last second of the wonders before me, always wishing that I knew more and now standing here watching it unfold. Derek was the last to wake, but they all did it the same way, which told me that it was the way that I woke. Just like most teens, they lay there moaning and pushing against each other. I stood in the shadows watching in amazement at the thought of being taught something so important, by those that look to me for the answers.
“Wake up you sleepy heads. We have a boat to catch,” I announced, walking up to the foot of the bed.
“One more hour, Mom,” Derek moaned.
“Yeah, what he said,” Bo added, arching his back then rolling over onto his stomach.
“Now you guys move around,” I said, then started laughing at my own private joke.
; “Haven’t I heard this story before? You know you couldn’t go back to sleep even if you wanted to.”
“We could pretend,” Derek interjected.
“We need to go make sure that everything’s alright with the boat. Sydney’s already taken off,” I replied pulling the comforter off of them.
“He did?” Ashley said jumping off the bed. “When did he go?”
“He was gone when I woke up.”
“You guys heard her…get up,” Ashley yelled.
“Holy cow. See what you did, Renee? You created a monster when you brought him around,” Brandon said as he sat up on the side of the bed.
I let them go back and forth over the statement that Brandon had just spouted off, and went on upstairs. Sydney had left a note on the inside of the door that said he couldn’t lay there anymore, so he was going to go get things ready on the boat. He said the weather had turned for the good, and to not worry, just come over when we woke up. He left a ‘P.S.’ saying that he would have to talk to me about what he saw when he woke up. I giggled to myself, thinking that I bet that he would. If he had waited around he would have a whole new subject to talk about, because waking up was a topic all on its own.
We left the car in the garage and walked down to the dock, carrying what little that we had left. I think we took our time that night, saying goodbye to the sands of our home land just in case we didn’t make it back. No one had much to say on the way to the boat. I think we were all a little on edge thinking about the first major step in our adventure to Cuba. Just five new bloodbreeders, standing against a world of the unknown, leaning on the support of one normal to make sure that their journey was complete.
I stood on the deck of the boat watching the lights that graced Corpus, very much the same way that I had the first time I crossed these waters. Everyone was hustling about in a state of excitement. Sydney was on the top deck with Ashley at his side, leading us deeper into the endless night of rippling black waves. The further that we got out the brighter the stars became, and the more that Sydney had to explain how he used them to navigate where he was going. The tarp was back in place and without turning around, I knew that all the kids had joined Sydney at the wheel. I could hear them laughing as he let each of them take a turn navigating the boat. Not one seemed to notice the lights fade on the shore; not as much as I did.
Bloodbreeders: The Revenge Page 8
